Looking for a new table saw and saw that Lowes is not carrying a Hitachi table saw for $499. It looks like it is cross between a cabinet and contractor saw. The fence seems to be of good quality and it has plent of horsepower. Has anybody bought or used this saw yet and how well did it perform.
thanks-
Replies
Hi Rob - My impression was different than yours. I thought for a $500 saw the fence was severely lacking compared to some of the best competitors in that price range. I viewed the fence as average at best, and since it's one of the more critical components, I was disappointed. The new Delta T2 and Grizzly's Shop Fox fence are far superior IMO, and the Sears 22114 fence and Ridgid fence also had some advantages.
The motor claim of 3hp is fictitious. It's unfortunate that they're making that claim on a 1-1/2hp motor. The main cast iron table surface seemed fine, although the wings seemed pretty thin. The Sears 22114 goes on sale for ~ $540 often and has solid cast iron wings. It also has cabinet style trunnions with a fully enclosed base. The Ridgid 3650 which is $569 regularly, and is easy to get 10% discounts on, has cast iron wings and a far superior mobile base to the one on the Hitachi.
The Grizzly G0444 offers stiff competition too. It's just a nice basic saw, but the fence and the miter gauge make it a more compelling saw in my view. The Delta 36-675 with T2 fence has been on sale at HD for $400 is alot better value to me. And the 36-680 which also has the T2 and sports cast iron wings is on sale at Rockler for $575 with a free mobile base and $50 rebate which makes it one of the hottest deals going now.
New design bugs are another reason I'd hesitate before I plunked down $500 for that saw....bugs are common in most new designs. From my observations Hitachi is getting blasted at that price by some tough competitors.....but that's just my 2 cents.
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